Saturday, December 25, 2010

After a great Christmas Eve gig at the Windsor Castle in Little Bookham, Fluke are now looking forward to playing on New Year's Eve at the Rowbarge in Guildford. Please contact Mark, the landlord, for details.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

It was lovely to meet you and your band tonight. I really enjoyed your music and got positive feedback from both customers and staff.

I have one Saturday date left in December- the 11th. Are you free to play that night?

Thanks and kind regards,

Elaine"

This was the e-mail Elaine, the bar and entertainments manager at the King's Head sent us after our gig on the 29th November. It was a gtreat gig and the band went down a storm. Unfortunately we're booked for a private party on the 11th December but we'll be making a return to the pub in the New Year.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Our first gig at the Windsor Castle since the new manager, Jamil, took over. Line up for the evening was Pete Miles (drums), Keith Hale (keyboards), Chris Belshaw (bass), John Parry (lead guitar & vocals, Chris Snook (guitar and vocals). We made some new friends including the lovely ladies pictured left. Below from the left are Chris Snook, Chris Belshaw and Keith Hale, and below that John Parry and Pete Miles.

Our second visit to this riverside pub music venue. Mark and Chrissie, the landlords, always make us feel very welcome. A good night entertaining a wedding party and our travelling friends Judy and Judi (pictured below with John Parry and Iain Fidler). Our next gig at the Rowbarge is on the 4th December.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The band played at the 'Gomstock' Festival, at the Compasses Inn in Gomshall, for the second year running. Heavy rain most of the day but it didn't stop five hundred or so people turning up on the day to listen to some great music. Almost £2,500 was raised for charity.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

A photo of the band, post gig at the Albert Social Club, Fleet. A very nice club with good stage area, large dance floor with several bars. The band went down very well and have been asked to make a return visit soon.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

This was the band's first visit to the Rowbarge on the River Wey, Guildford on Saturday the 14th August. Mark (in the shorts) and Chrissie, the landlords, made us feel very welcome and once we had sorted out the in house PA problems and my temperamental Marshall amp (now consigned to the scrap heap) we had a very good gig. Quite a small stage area, if we had gone out as our normal five piece we would have struggled, as it was we played as a four piece with Patrick Quirke depping on bass. Iain our trusty keyboard player is away on holiday in Cornwall at the moment but will be back for next weekend's gigs. A kind young lady on the tow path took these photos just before the gig, if that's you please contact me and I'll put your name on the photo credits and buy you a pint of Guinness for your trouble! We're back on the 16th October for a return gig.

We were called out at very short notice to do a gig on the 12th August at the Propaganda bar in Andover. We've played at the Propaganda Bar in Fleet so were glad to help them out. A very large bar area with a very small playing space which played havoc with the PA all evening. Tommy O'Donnell our regular drummer had to pull out of the gig at the last minute due to work commitments but managed to rope in Jim Russell (pictured above with Patrick Quirke) at very short notice (two hours). Jim's an excellent drummer and slotted in really well with the band. His playing credits are quite impressive too including playing with The Human League, Paul Young's Los Pacaminos, Junior Walker, Peter Green, Hank Wangford, the list goes on. So many thanks to Jim for helping us out and we look forward to seeing him again.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Yet again the band have become a victim of a disorganised and unthinking landlord. Our gig at the The Old House At Home in Dorking tonight (August 1st) has been cancelled at very short notice. I only found out that the gig wasn't happening because I made a courtesy call to the pub this afternoon to let them know what time we would be arriving and where we would be setting up. A new landlord had taken over the pub, unbeknown to us, and said he knew nothing of the booking, and also seemed not to care. The previous landlord had not thought to inform him of the gig bookings in the diary. I had left dated posters for the gig with the landlord on our previous gig there at the end of June. This seems to be becoming quite a regular occurrence. Pub landlords seem to be changing with such frequency that little or no thought is given to the bands that may have bookings. If I had been informed earlier I probably could have arranged another gig booking at a different venue. The lesson to be learnt: always ring up well in advance to confirm the gig booking and don't assume that landlords are as well organised as you are.

Monday, July 26, 2010

We were called out at at very short notice to play at the Propaganda Bar in Fleet on Thursday 22nd July. It was another good evening and a second run out for Martin Donohoe, pictured left (guitar, saxophone and vocals), the latest recruit to the Fluke fold. On Saturday the 24th July we played at the Barley Mow in Shepperton, always a good gig but this was special. A great crowd, and considering we had three dep players in the band, we went down really well and really rocked. Patrick Quirke making a welcome return on bass and Martin Donohoe on guitar, saxophone and vocals.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Over the last weeks the band has played at three new venues for the first time. On the 1st July we played at the Propaganda in Fleet. The Propaganda is a large lounge bar/diner which has live music on Thursdays. A very comfortable bar with plenty of room for the band to set up and play. We played as a four piece and our sets went down very well. We're back there on the 16th September for a return visit. On the 3rd July we played at a private birthday party at Tyrrell's Wood Golf Club. Chris Manby, who has seen the band play quite a few times, asked us to play at his 60th birthday party and we were happy to accept the invitation. A beautiful location and a very good gig. Lastly we made our debut at the Castle in Finchley Road. The pub has been taken over by Denis Cook ( uncle of Fat Boy Slim! ) who was previously at the Horns in Watford. He's turned a rather down at heel pub into a great music venue. It has a stage area, huge dance floor and very comfortable bars. We were made to feel very welcome and we had a good night. We're looking forward to playing there again.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Our next gig is on the 29th May at the Barley Mow, Watersplash Road, Shepperton. This is one of the band's favourite gigs, always a good night. John, the landlord, is a genuine music lover and is very keen to keep live music going at the Barley Mow. 9pm start and finishing at about 11.15pm. Come early to get the best seats.

Monday, May 24, 2010

A good weekend for the band, playing at two new venues. On Saturday we played at the Fox and Duck in Petersham. Very friendly landlady and staff and a good crowd. Lot's of positive feedback from the punters and staff so we'll be booked again soon. On Sunday we played at the Angler's Retreat in Laleham. It was a private birthday party for Jackie Bulmer. Jackie and her husband had seen the band playing at the Barley Mow in Shepperton and asked us if we would play at her birthday party. It was a really good night with lots of guests attending a sit down meal to start and then onto the dance floor.Very impressive array of frocks and heels on display. It was a pleasure for the band to play for Jackie on her birthday and we look forward to seeing her (and her husband and friends) at a gig soon.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The band played at the famous 606 Club, Chelsea, on the 6th May. It was a private party for Dr Chris Peach, a friend of John Parry's. The evening was a great success. The club was packed with Chris's friends and family and from our first number to the last the guests were up and dancing. It's a great place to play, with lots of atmospere and a good PA. The club staff thought we were great too so hopefully we'll be back again for other gigs.

Monday, April 19, 2010

The band has been quite busy this month so far.We have played in Sunbury at the Jubilee pub for first time, the Walnut Tree in East Farleigh, also for the first time, the Royal Wells Hotel in Tunbridge Wells, a regular venue for the band, and a private party in New Barnet. The landlords of both the new venues, the Jubilee and the Walnut Tree were impressed with the band and want to re-book us for further gig dates. The private party was for Brian Hickey (pictured above in the bright shirt with his wife). It was his fortieth birthday party and it was held in St Peter's Church Hall in New Barnet. There was a stage ( quite a luxury for the band ) and a large dance floor, which by the end of the evening all the one hundred and fifty guests made full use of. Our next gigs are at the Windsor Castle in Little Bookham on Friday 23rd April and the Central Ward Club in Morden.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The band played at two new venues this weekend (new for Fluke), the Lamb in Farnham and the Old Ticket Hall in Windsor. Both excellent gigs. We were very fortunate to get through the gigs as John Parry was on the verge of losing his voice on Friday and had almost totally lost it on Saturday. Luckily at very short notice we managed to enlist the help of Jon Jagger ( pictured below with Chris Snook ) to help us out with the vocals. Many thanks to him for doing a great job. Line up for both gigs was John Parry, Iain Fidler, Patrick Quirke, Tommy O' Donnell and Chris Snook. We'll be making return visits to both venues very soon.

The band has had a very good year which was rounded off with two excellent gigs. Christmas Eve saw us playing to a packed and enthusiastic house at The Windsor Castle in Little Bookham. It's always a good gig there but it really rocked on that night. Peter and Barbara, the landlords, and the locals always make us feel welcome. We next play at the Windsor Castle on 17th March ( St Patrick's Day ). On New Year's Eve the band played for the Magdalen Park Lawn Tennis Club in Wandsworth. Again a great night, so good that they want us back next New Year's Eve to do it all again. 2010 already looks promising for the band with many regular venues and a number of new ones coming up, The Old Ticket Hall, Windsor, the Sir Douglas Haig, Effingham, The Lamb, Farnham, The Rowbarge, Guildford, The Walnut Tree, East Farleigh are some of the new venues we'll be playing at.

Over the past year the band has witnessed an array of events whilst playing including an applauding dog (only if he liked the song, bark, bark!) rugby scrums on the dance floor, over enthusiastic punters sending microphones and music stands flying, tuneless floor singers, beer soaked amps exploding, dropped Stratocasters, temperamental pa systems. All things that make gigging so entertaining. Let's see what the New Year brings.

Our next two gigs are at the Compasses Inn, Gomshall and the Barley Mow in Shepperton. Both great gigs. We played at the 'Gomstock Festival' for the Compasses Inn in the summer and went down so well that we were asked back for a regular pub gig. The 29th January will be our second visit since the festival. On the 30th January we're at the Barley Mow in Shepperton, one of the band's favourite gigs ( if not the favourite ). Always a great atmosphere and an enthusiastic and lively crowd. We're looking forward to both.

Thanks to all the various musicians who have played in the band over the past year. These include Steve Bennett, John Bayley, Peter Terry, Darryl West, Chris Sharley, Patrick Quirke, Peter Miles, Keith Hale, Russell Chaney, Pat Kyle, Bill Meads, Fox, Mike Kings and the more regular members of the band ( pictured above ) Tommy O'Donnell, Chris Belshaw, Iain Fidler and John Parry. All excellent players who make it possible for Fluke to carry on gigging. The line up has always been quite fluid over the past years but this year I'm hoping to keep the band line up as unchanged as possible, not always easy.

About the band

Fluke are a four piece band playing mostly material from the 60's to the present day including numbers by The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Canned Heat, Steeley Dan, Elvis Costello, Spencer Davis, The Small Faces, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, Steve Miller Band, The Doors, The Kings Of Leon, The Stereophonics and many more. The band performs at pubs clubs and private functions.